Under the Twilight Skies
by Red Rose of Konoha
Summary: Full Summary Inside. Rated M for Future chapters. Neji x Ino and Neji x Ino x Shikamaru.


**- FanFiction - Under the Twilight Skies**

**- Written by - Red Rose of Konoha, December of 2006**

**.: Disclaimer: _Naruto_ copyright Masashi Kishimoto/SHUEISHA Inc.. This is purely for entertainment purposes only :.**

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**Summary - Neji Hyuuga and Ino Yamanaka are sent on a "learning mission" from Tsunade. Their mission is to train in the depths of a mysterious forest that seems to have an effect on ones chakra in strange ways. Tsuande also has sent a scout to watch them without their knowing. So just what is the strange effect this forest could have. Neji and Ino are about to find out the sercrets of the Twilight Forest. NejixIno, NejiInoShika, rated M for later chapters.**

**Note - This takes place the during the timeskip, right before Naruto arrives back at Konoha.**

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Neji Hyuuga awakes on a fine morning in Apirl. The sunshine glowing through his window to the foot of his bed. It was the day he and Ino would be going on their mission towards the Twilight Forest in the southwest region of the Fire Country. He yawned with bordem still hearing Tsunade's words ring in his head why it was him and Ino.

**-Flashback-**

"Neji, Ino. You two are assigned to this mission for a reason. Neji, because of your Byakugan, you could spot out the troubles of the forrest to find the source of the problem, and Ino is only here because all the other female chuunin are out on missions, and the most interesting effect of this forrest happens to women. So on that note, I want you two to give it your all. You are to report back in one week." She said with a serious tone of voice. Neji and Ino simply nodded "yes.", looked at each other and lefted the room...

**-End Flashback-**

Of all girls in the village, INO of all people. The one girl Neji really got because of her bossy attitude and nagging at all the other boys in the village. He just wanted this mission to go by in a day, but it was a week long mission. He hoped he wouldn't have to kill himself before the job was done. Just then a knock came at his bedroom door. Hinata's voice spoke through the wooden rectangle...

" Neji-nii san, Ino is here." the timid voice said and her silhoutte disappeared.

Neji got up from his bed, made-it, and quickly got dressed into his usuall cloths, grabbed his already packed backpack and left the room. He found Ino leaning against the wall adjacent to his door, eyes closed, a REALLY big gym bag at her feet. She wore her normal two piece uniform and her Konoha headband around her waist.

" Are you ready?" Ino asked with a scowl. She was in a bad mood for some unknown reason. Too bad his Byakugan cant ready minds or he'd know what was wrong with her. He just hoped it would blow over like this mission.

"Yeah." Neji replied back at they walked down the hallway and onto the Konoha streets, side by side. Making their way to the front gate, different numbers of their friends watched them walking together, and gave a confused face. Neji and Ino walking together? Were they on a mission? Or was it something else? When Naruto saw them, he had to find out.

"Heyyyyyy...", He said in a sarcastic kind of way that made Neji mad." So where are you two love birds going?" Naruto grew a wide grin across his face with a slight chuckle. Ino whiped around as her light blue eyes now erupted into fire balls and glared at Naruto with murderous intent. Neji actived his byakugan and gave Naruto his hyuuga death stare. Naruto's once humored face now grew worried as both Neji and Ino raced up and clobbered Naruto into the air and out of sight. They both gave a sigh of relief and then looked at each other. with a slight nodded and faces that read "Me love him/Me love Her". they turned back around and started walking towards the front gate once again.

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A knock came at Tsunade's door.

"Enter." The Hokage said. The door opened and in came Shikamaru. The lazy Chunnin walked in and looked at the fifth with his normal 'I do not care' eyes.

"You wanted to see him Hokage-sama?", He said with a troublesome tone.

"Yes, you are to observe Neji and Ino on her mission. Do not like them notice you, because if the forest as the effect its rumored to have, you could very well make the mission unbearable for any human being." Tsunade replied as Shikamaru's face went from lazily awake to confused and slighty curious.

"What exactly does this forest do to people." he asked. Tsunade took a deep breathe and looked at Shikamaru with both of her hands holding up her chin.

"To males, this forrest causes erotic pictures of the last women he saw that day in their dreams. For females, however, this forrest will make any male she sees the most beaitful thing on the planet, and also cause erotic pictures, but they only happen when they are awake."

Shikamaru looked on at the fifth with a puzzled look and could not believe his ears. Neji dreaming of Ino...Ino dreaming of Neji!?? This was just too werid, even for him. Two ninja of this village who hardly even like, let only, KNOW each other all that well. He knew Ino enough to realize that with her flirting attitude towards boy and this forrest's effect, Ino was not going to last very long. There was no telling how Neji would react. He took things as serious as ever know, his brain was going to fry thinking of Ino in anyway that was erotic or sexy. Shikamru gave a grin and then realized something...

"Tsunade-sama. What this forest have the same effect on me?" Shikamaru asked with a worried tone. Tsunade did not answer as she had already turned around and gazed her attention right out the window, so to speak. Shikamaru gave alittle "uhh" as he walked out the door, and quickly followed Neji and Ino's tracks. As he caught up with them far outside Konoha's borders, he noticed Neji and Ino discussing, while Neji was discussing, Ino was more or less yelling, something. He turned to get as close as possible to listen in without being heard.

"Now listen Ino. I understand we have had our differences in the past, but please do not screw this mission up. This is an A-ranked mission and therefore its very important." Neji said calmy. Ino was mad, and she really looked like she wanted to hit him.

"Fine Neji, but you wont hear the end of this, EVER!!!" Ino said with fury, but then a thought hit her. "Why is this an A ranked mission you think. She didn't tell us to beware of other ninja or anything, nor did you say the forest was filled with deadly animals?"

"It must have something to do with the effects this forest has with our chakra. Maybe it creates genjutsus of deadly animals or other ninja." Neji said, realizing that she had a good point.

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Now finally at the enterance of the forest, they saw a sign in the ground with some words of advise."

- Caution: Entering the Twilight Forest. Proceed only if you love the ones your with. -

Neji and Ino read the sign and looked at each other. Ino gave a slight blush but immediately snapped back to reality. Neji turned away from the sigh and looked deep into the forest, activating his Byakugan.

"I can see nothing strange from here...wait I see something. Its alittle cabin." Neji said as he turned off his doujutsu. Ino looked at him and thought to herself,"of all the ninja to do on a love-related mission...WHY NEJI!!??"

They both entered the Twilight Forest and headed towards the cabin Neji found. Shikamaru jumped down from a tree and walked up towards the sign. He read the white letters of the wooden sign and closed his eyes with a deep breathe. Maybe Tsunade was right about the effects of the forest. This could lead to one interesting week.

**- End of Chapter One -  
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Thanks for all of you who read. This is only the first chapter. I plan to write seven more, one chapter for each day thay spend in the forest, but it may be cut short or extented, depending on how people like it. I'm not a professional story teller, nor am I perfect so please exucss any typeos or wrong usage of words and phrases.


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